Intuitive says da Vinci systems ‘exceeded expectations,’ it wants more

Intuitive’s (Nasdaq: ISRG) + da Vinci systems have exceeded 2025 expectations. Over 3 million procedures were performed globally on da Vinci systems, accounting for an 18% increase in procedure usage from 2024 despite an increasingly competitive surgical robot industry. And Intuitive’s not slowing down anytime soon.

Intuitive CEO Dave Rosa opened his presentation at the 2026 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference by announcing that Intuitive’s robotic systems surpassed a company milestone of treating over 20 million patients, and this year, the company is looking to expand beyond soft tissue surgery.

Since the U.S. debut of the next-gen da Vinci 5 in 2024, Intuitive has projected high hopes for increased global adoption of the multi-port surgical robot, which promises greater surgeon autonomy and efficiency. Added features like Force Gauge and Feedback instruments, where surgeons sense the amount of push and pull forces exerted in real time, and the addition of a curved vessel sealer have received positive feedback from surgeons, which translated into an 11% higher usage of the da Vinci 5 compared to the previous generation da Vinci Xi — signalling that Intuitive’s innovation is headed in the right direction.

In 2026, Rosa said his team is working on adding an articulated wristed multifire clip applier to its da Vinci 5 system to meet surgeons’ desires for further autonomy.

“We’re excited to continue this development, bring it to market, where we expect to add to the autonomy and efficiency of surgeons in procedures, like cholecystectomy,” Rosa said.

Intuitive’s advancements are driven by the evolving needs and landscape of robot-assisted surgery. With the popularity of GLP-1 inhibitors, bariatric surgery, once a sizable portion of robotic-assisted procedures, has dropped to under 3% of U.S. robotic surgeries, signaling a shift in patient need, according to Rosa. The trend is forcing Intuitive and its competitors to expand their treatment scope and system capabilities.

Intuitive’s competitors are not far behind with Medtronic’s Hugo system, presently focused on urologic surgery, earning FDA approval in late December 2025 and Johnson & Johnson submitting its Ottava system for FDA de novo approval in early January 2026. Despite the competition, Intuitive expects da Vinci procedures to increase approximately 13 to 15% in 2026.

With Intuitive’s preliminary Q4 results projecting a 17% increase in da Vinci procedures, Rosa and the company look to expand beyond their da Vinci systems with significant investments in its Ion robotic bronchoscopy system.

“The North Star that we have started with Ion … is to improve survivability of lung cancer,” Rosa said.

In October 2025, the FDA approved software advancements to introduce an AI system-wide, assisting in Ion’s minimally invasive biopsy technology; advancing Intuitive’s goal of improving patient outcomes. Ion’s capabilities aren’t limited to the U.S.; its capabilities have excited surgeons globally, attributing to a 51% increase in procedure use expanded worldwide in 2025, and a projected 44% increase in Q4. And Rosa aims to expand Ion’s capabilities beyond just detection.

Rosa explained how a once a malignant nodule is diagnosed, the beginning of treatment could take over six months, with the possible cancer progressing, contributing to poorer patient outcomes. He plans to shorten the timeline from detection to treatment to less than one month.

To achieve its ambitious goal, Intuitive is investing in rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) and endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) technology, so physicians can assess tissue samples and lymph nodes for malignancy, and stage patients in real time with Ion.

“We’re excited when we look at what is possible for lung cancer,” Rosa said. “We can change a 200-day pathway, compress that to less than a month and make it easier for caregivers to provide.”

In tandem with real-time diagnostic advancements, Intuitive also plans to invest in focal therapy for lung cancer, and initial results from research at the University of Zurich, show promising results. Starting in 2024, researchers have diagnosed about 3,540 patients with Stage 1A lung cancer using Ion plus Cone Beam CT technology, Rosa said. And with early detection, five-year survival rates of lung cancer increase significantly.

Since adopting Ion + Cone Beam CT technology, University of Zurich researchers have seen a market increase of about 30 percentage points to 55% of patients diagnosed at Stage 1A, Rosa said. Rosa also mentioned that the current results are multifactorial and could be attributed to the program’s patient growth, but he’s still optimistic about the decrease in time from diagnosis to treatment.

“We believe that Intuitive can add even further value to the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment pathway for lung cancer patients,” Rosa said. “If focal therapy for lung cancer becomes a standard of care for certain patients, and as we make investments in the work we’re doing with COPD and benign lung disease, we have an opportunity to impact even more patients.”

Intuitive’s ambitious 2026 goals are catalyzed by promising preliminary 2025 Q4 results, which show the company expecting approximately $2.87 billion in revenue, a 19% increase from 2024’s Q4 earnings. Overall, Intuitive expects approximately $10.06 billion in annual revenue for 2025, marking a 21% increase from the previous year.

The preliminary results beat the Wall Street analyst consensus of $2.72 billion for the fourth quarter and $9.93 billion for full-year 2025.

ISRG shares were down more than 2% today, which William Blair analysts led by Brandon Vazquez attributed to 2026 procedure growth projections being lower than last year’s guidance. “Regardless, we think fourth-quarter results show strong momentum into 2026.”

Said Rosa: “We are excited about the potential of 2026 and what’s ahead of us.”